


i feel grown up with you in your car

by 152glasslippers



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Daisy takes care of Robbie, F/M, Fluff, Post-Season/Series 04, Season 5 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 04:45:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11200704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/152glasslippers/pseuds/152glasslippers
Summary: She looked at him, and she thought of the months he’d spent in that other dimension, terrible and painful and lonely, his quick return to fight AIDA, and the months he’d spent back there. The same months she’d been in space. They’d all gotten out, her and the rest of the team with his help, and he’d immediately jumped in to another one of their battles. Which brought them here, to probably the first minute he’d had to breathe in way too long.He’d been to hell and back, twice, and she could finally see the exhaustion.“When was the last time you slept?”Post-season 4. After spending months in space prison, Daisy and the rest of the team break out (with Robbie’s help, but with admittedly no explanation by me). Takes place after a fight to restore Shield’s reputation and dismantle any remaining confusion left behind by AIDA and the rest of the LMDs. The team finally gets a break, and Daisy worries about Robbie. (It’s just fluff, guys; it’s just fluff. I have no excuse.)





	i feel grown up with you in your car

She found him in the first place she looked, not that there were that many places she thought he would go.

The driver’s seat was reclined slightly, his body relaxed against it like he wished he could sink into it. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed, and still, one of his hands rested on the steering wheel. Like he was itching to drive, just because he missed the feeling of it.

She had a vision of him, all those months ago, reaching across the gear shift to open the passenger door, telling her to get in. That was the first time she’d ever ridden in the Charger.

This time, she didn’t wait for an invitation.

He didn’t move at the sound of her opening the door, or settling into the seat next to him. He didn’t even question who it was. She wondered if it was the devil in him who sensed it, or if it was just him, just Robbie, who knew it was her. She looked through the windshield, thinking of all the times she’d sat in this car, always in the passenger seat, even when Robbie was gone. She’d only ever been behind the wheel once, that day in LA, and she wasn’t so sure that was a day he hadn’t been there.

Robbie’s voice broke the silence. “What’s next?” He hadn’t moved a muscle.

“We usually get a small grace period while the dust settles. Should be at least 48 hours before it all goes to hell again.”

His eyebrow arched, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Figuratively speaking, of course.”

He closed his eyes again, the corners of his mouth turning down like he was trying to hide a smile.

She watched him, the quiet descending in the car again, just the sound of their breathing. He looked…pallid. The word floated up to her out of her memory, a favorite descriptor of the nuns at St. Agnes whenever she or one of the other kids got sick. She looked at him, and she thought of the months he’d spent in that other dimension, _terrible and painful and lonely_ , his quick return to fight AIDA, and the months he’d spent back there. The same months she’d been in space. They’d all gotten out, her and the rest of the team with his help, and he’d immediately jumped in to another one of their battles. Which brought them here, to probably the first minute he’d had to breathe in way too long.

He’d been to hell and back, twice, and she could finally see the exhaustion.

“When was the last time you slept?” It was half-murmur, half-whisper. She hadn’t meant for it to come out so worried, so sad.

“I’m fine.” The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, reminding her of the grin he’d given her the only time they’d ever talked about what it was like where he went. _Yeah, that about sums it up_. “I heal, remember?”

Somehow that made her even sadder.

She switched tactics. “Well, then, when was the last time you ate?”

Robbie’s hand twitched on the steering wheel, and he let out a deep breath that sounded almost like a sigh. She knew he heard the challenge in her voice, that he didn’t have an answer for it. Daisy smiled. She regrouped quickly; he’d never stood a chance.

“Come with me.” She leaned over and patted his knee bracingly before she could think about it, opened the door and climbed out before she could see his reaction to her touch.

She didn’t look back to see if he was getting out of the car, but waited by the front bumper until she heard the driver’s side door close, then set off toward the base’s kitchen, Robbie on her heels. He was close behind her. She could feel his body near hers in the way she stood a little straighter, in the way her skin felt a little more alive, more aware. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling. It just felt like he was… _with_ her. All the way. Even if all they were doing was going to the kitchen to find him a sandwich.

She headed straight for the fridge, and she heard the legs of a stool scraping across the floor as Robbie pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table behind her.

“It looks like all that’s survived in here is beer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think you want to drink on an empty stomach.” She shut the fridge and moved to the cabinet next to it. “It looks like there’s soup in here. Soup never goes bad, right?”

She turned around to face him, can of soup in hand, only to find him asleep at the table, arms limp in his lap, head lolling precariously to the side. She put the can of soup down on the counter, shaking her head and smiling to herself.

_‘I heal,’ my ass_.

“Come on, hot shot, let’s get you to a bed.” She walked over to where he was sitting, nudging him lightly in the shoulder. “Robbie.” She nudged him harder. “Robbie.”

His eyes flashed open on a startled inhale, his expression wild as his eyes landed on her face.

“It’s Daisy.” She kept her hand on his shoulder, gripped it tighter. “It’s just Daisy.”

The look in his eyes calmed slightly, and he nodded, sitting up in the chair and clearing his throat. She took her hand off his shoulder.

“You should sleep,” she said.

He looked up at her, then back down at the table. “Yeah.” His voice was rough. Well. Rougher than usual.

She led him to one of the empty rooms on the side of the base that hadn’t been completely destroyed and pushed the door open, revealing the standard issue bed, desk, dresser, closet. He hesitated next to her.

“You’re not taking anybody’s room,” she told him. “It was empty long before…” Her voice trailed off. _Everything_.

He nodded again and walked into the room, pulling the chain wrapped around his chest up over his head. He dropped it on the floor next to the bed and sat down. She was about to leave and close the door behind her, but she took one last look at him, and he looked so lost, sitting on the edge of the bed like that, elbows on his knees, staring at his shoes. Like they were a problem he didn’t have the energy to solve.

She took a step inside. And another one, until she was standing right in front of him.

“Gloves,” she said, tapping his left hand before kneeling down. She tugged at the laces on his shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” She looked up at him and immediately wished she hadn’t. His face was inches from hers, and it only made her notice how close the rest of his body was. No closer than before really, but the distance felt different face-to-face. Intimate. Luckily Robbie was too focused on the straps on his gloves to see the flush on her face or the way she froze for a second and stared.

She finished untying his shoes and stood up, gently taking his gloves from him. “Jacket, too.”

He shrugged out of it and handed it to her, and she had a strange moment of realization that this was only the second time she’d ever seen him without it. There was the day she’d shown up at the garage, when he’d been wearing his work jumpsuit—the first time she’d met him in daylight—and that was it.

Everything between them felt more real holding his jacket in her hands.

She lay his gloves and the jacket on the dresser against the wall, and when she turned around, Robbie had toed off his shoes and fallen sideways on the bed, halfway to sleep already. She had her hand on the doorknob, about to leave, when he spoke.

“Did you call me ‘hot shot’?” His eyes were still closed, his voice muffled somewhat by the pillow. He sounded half confused and half like he was making fun of her.

Her laughter surprised her, and her smile was big enough to make her muscles remember they knew how. “Get some sleep, Robbie.”

She took another step out the door, pulling it shut behind her.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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